Hyderabad proves how infrastructure is vital to real estate

GRI Club India met on 19 March 2019 to discuss synergies between real estate, transport infrastructure and social infrastructure, which some suggest has become a main driver in real estate development. Appropriately, the meeting was held in Hyderabad, a city whose infrastructure has been one of the biggest draws for real estate developers and investors, resulting from  its economic growth, government investment and political stability.

Hyderabad’s infrastructure includes: the Nehru Outer Ring Road, an eight-lane, 158-kilometre-long road that encircles Hyderabad; the Hyderabad Metro Rail, a mass rapid transit system that claims to be the world’s largest public-private partnership in the metro rail sector, spreading across 72 kilometers; and the Rajiv Gandhi Hyderabad International Airport, currently handling 21 million passengers per year, but designed to cater for up to 34 million. Another ‘game changer’ for the city, as noted by meeting participants, has been the Hyderabad International Convention Centre, India’s first purpose-built convention facility.

Transport nodes and ecosystems

It was agreed that metro networks play a huge role in connecting cities - in a much broader fashion - and in fact are imperative to the growth of a city, especially when social infrastructure is built around the connecting nodes. It was also noted that the aviation sector has been growing rapidly and that airports have become a “space between home and work.'' 

Social infrastructure is critical

Participants agreed that social infrastructure is a key driver in terms of where to locate residential real estate developments. Even if the public infrastructure of a city might be set up, developers will not want to progress unless social infrastructure - schools, retail, health facilities - is in place. Creating residential development cannot be done in isolation, or in something like a ‘chicken and egg’ situation: residential real estate development has to happen alongside the creation of both social infrastructure and public infrastructure. Indeed, the consensus was that for any affordable housing to be successful, social infrastructure and transport infrastructure are critical. 

Real estate markets and opportunities will be discussed in further detail at GRI Offices and Parks India 2019 in Mumbai on 25 April and India GRI 2019 in Mumbai on 18-19 September.